The other thing you need to consider is that genuinely world class players are at a premium. There's not many about that are available and there's plenty of competition for them. So on the off chance that he's both available and wants to come here you need to grab it with both hands and worry about how it all fits in later.

I'm sick of the way we sacrifice our forwards' games for the sake of fullbacks and midfielders bombing forward. A solid base with the brilliance of Ozil, James, Alexis, and a new striker would serve us way, way better in this league. Wenger is never going to get a team to function like Simeone does with Atletico, so best we can hope for is to do the basics right with 7 solid, hardworking players with unlimited stamina and just field brilliant attackers ahead of them game after game and see what happens.

Basically, sign this guy up.

Klaus wrote:

Ricky1985 wrote:

Would he really though? Maybe individually he'd be good but would he work well as part of a proper functioning and balanced team? I think he's too slow, too static and comes to the ball too much in order to really improve the team more than a proper wide player would. He'd score goals because he's brilliant and has a left foot to die for but when he's not scoring goals he'll be clogging up the centre of the pitch and stepping on Özil's toes, struggling to find room to unleash that rocket shot of his.

I wouldn't say no because he's a brilliant footballer but there are others that might be available that I'd look to first.

He'll be brilliant anywhere you put him, Ricky. No need to overanalyse it. He'd be one of the top 3 players in the league immediately if he came here.

It's like de bruyne and city with silva. You think they don't need him but they look twice the team with de bryne in there with silva.

Klaus wrote:

Ricky1985 wrote:

Would he really though? Maybe individually he'd be good but would he work well as part of a proper functioning and balanced team? I think he's too slow, too static and comes to the ball too much in order to really improve the team more than a proper wide player would. He'd score goals because he's brilliant and has a left foot to die for but when he's not scoring goals he'll be clogging up the centre of the pitch and stepping on Özil's toes, struggling to find room to unleash that rocket shot of his.

I wouldn't say no because he's a brilliant footballer but there are others that might be available that I'd look to first.

He'll be brilliant anywhere you put him, Ricky. No need to overanalyse it. He'd be one of the top 3 players in the league immediately if he came here.

He's been RM's second worst player this season. Why would he immediately be brilliant for us? 

Wenger would probably convert him into a striker.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Klaus wrote:

He'll be brilliant anywhere you put him, Ricky. No need to overanalyse it. He'd be one of the top 3 players in the league immediately if he came here.

He's been RM's second worst player this season. Why would he immediately be brilliant for us? 

He was Real's second best player the season before that.

The bloke is a brilliant footballer. You should be happy he isn't working out at Real. We wouldn't have a chance in hell at signing this type of quality otherwise.

the biggest negative to signing hamez is that hed cost a big chunk (all) of our budget and he'd be helping ozil slide perfect passes into giroud who would be shooting them directly at the keeper. we need a lewandowsi or aguero more than another world class attacking mid. but im sure wenger wont buy a world class striker so id be happy with james. and my name is james so it will be cool seeing people say how awesome james is

Klaus wrote:

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

He's been RM's second worst player this season. Why would he immediately be brilliant for us? 

He was Real's second best player the season before that.

The bloke is a brilliant footballer. You should be happy he isn't working out at Real. We wouldn't have a chance in hell at signing this type of quality otherwise.

I know he was, or at least third after Modric. All I'm asking is what makes you sure he'll be so much better for us than he's for them this season.

The fact that the bloke is a world class footballer. It's not like there's a lack of evidence of his class either. He's had at least two top seasons in Europe so far and a world cup where he bossed it.

You don't get any guarantees in football, but signing someone like James is as good as it could possibly get for us. In simple terms it would be the biggest transfer Arsenal have ever pulled off. Özil was a better player when we signed him but not even he had James's profile.

i'm not totally convinced by james. if we can get him cut price maybe, but i wouldn't push the boat out for him

Didnt he play on the wing for Porto?

Klaus wrote:

James is as good as it could possibly get

thank you, i appreciate it

Gazza M wrote:

i'm not totally convinced by james. if we can get him cut price maybe, but i wouldn't push the boat out for him

Same here, he doesn't stand out for me the way Ozil did. I don't share Klaus' opinion.

hmmm

He's playing for Madrid though. If the chances Ozil creates were getting converted, his assists stat would be up around 0.75.

mdgoonah41 wrote:

the biggest negative to signing hamez is that hed cost a big chunk (all) of our budget and he'd be helping ozil slide perfect passes into giroud who would be shooting them directly at the keeper. we need a lewandowsi or aguero more than another world class attacking mid. but im sure wenger wont buy a world class striker so id be happy with james. and my name is james so it will be cool seeing people say how awesome james is

James and Alexis is a lot of goalscoring prowess really, the problem is thinking about where they play and what they do when they're not scoring. James knows how to pass the ball unlike Alexis but he's still an end product player. Not sure we can play those two plus a striker, neither stay wide or are particularly helpful retaining the ball. We still don't have a natural left-sided wide man or somebody who actually stays wide and can operate down the touchline. Wouldn't say no to the guy but we need foundation players more than we do end product players. Too many of our players have dynamic aspects to them but can't fulfill the responsibilities of their position, and it's hard to watch nowadays.

We could probably get him for cheap though, he's lost his confidence and has no place in Zidane's setup.

We certainly need end product players more than anything else the way I see it. Özil doesn't really score, Giroud/Welbeck/Walcott don't score enough at 9, and we have regularly fielded one of Walcott, Cambell and Chamberlain on the right wing, and neither of them really score either.

I'd much rather someone like Reus than James, because on top of scoring from wide he brings qualities I think we need more, but we'd be absolutely mad to turn down the opportunity to sign someone like Rodriguez IMO. Still doesn't solve the problem that we need a better starting striker though, because we absolutely need that as well.

We need a Benzema or Lewandowski but its not like we get to pick. If James is available and if he's willing to take a big step down we need to go for him.

Our Right side has been rotten for so long since hmmm Ljungberg
Ljungberg . . Theo . . . Hleb . . .Theo . . Eboue . . . Theo . . . Gervihno . . .Theo . . . The OX. . . Theo

Stick James on one side and Sanchez on the other ozil in the middle. Were lucky to get more than a month or 2 of good form per season from Wellbeck, Theo, Ox.

Theo is fit we should sell him Wellbeck and Ox are to injured to sell.

Welbeck is by no means a starting material, but with him being out for so long, we have only one capable CF in the team. If we splash money for James, we're left with Giroud with no alternatives for at least half a season, because surely we're not going to buy Xhaka, James and a WC striker at once?